


Mac n' Cheese Secrets

by cherrysprite



Series: Quarantine Fics [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Babysitting, Domestic Fluff, Feelings, First Kiss, Fluff, Future Fic, Getting Together, Good Theo Raeken, Kid Fic, Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings, Post-Canon, Theo is a single dad, Theo's kids don't understand the concept of secrets, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, and Liam babysits his kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:55:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23506450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrysprite/pseuds/cherrysprite
Summary: Liam has been babysitting Theo's kids for the better part of seven years, but he hadn't been prepared for one of them to spill Theo's secrets - including his feelings for Liam - to him.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: Quarantine Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1691383
Comments: 10
Kudos: 205





	Mac n' Cheese Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> A short one for tonight :) Quarantine fic number seven, if I'm not mistaken!

"I know it's been years," Mason said over the phone while Liam sat in Theo's living room, barely heard over the rattling of plastic toys. "But I still can barely imagine Theo with kids. Two, no less."

Liam grinned to himself. "See what you miss when go and be adventurous? You miss the big _c-h-i-m-e-r-a_ of _d-e-a-t-h_ and all his babysitting needs," He spelled out so that neither of the little ones in front of him could understand what he was saying. He wasn't sure what things they understood, but he would rather not have them learn it from him for the first time. "I gotta go, I have to feed the little monsters."

"Good luck," Mason said. "Corey says hi, by the way, and that he misses you and the rest too."

"Give him a hug for me. I'll talk to you guys later," Liam said before ending the call. Mason and Corey had decided to travel after all they went through with supernatural threats, so they had been on the move for awhile, only stopping by here and there. They'd met Theo's kids before, but never enough to really get a good grasp on the concept of Theo procreating and that they actually existed.

Liam was used to Lilly and Jack, though. While it had been surprising that Theo had Lilly to begin with, the little rambunctious blonde had grown on him as she got older, her energy never dimming even though she was nearing seven. Even more surprising was Jack, who was four and quieter than Lilly, but no less fun to babysit. He looked like his sister and his dad to a T, green eyes and blonde hair, and always took a little time to warm up to even the people he knew the most before he would open up and get excited. 

Liam had been babysitting Lilly and Jack a lot more in the past few years after Theo and his fiancee, the kids' mother, broke it off around the time Jack turned two. Theo and Olivia had dated for about a year and a half before Theo proposed to her, and none of the pack had seen it coming. There had been a literal pool running of how long the relationship was going to last before they finally cracked, since whenever Olivia was around, they both seemed bored and obligated to be near each other. The news that Theo had gotten down on one knee and he was planning on spending his life with a girl that he hardly ever seemed to talk to was a shock to them all. They started betting on when the engagement would be called off, but a month after Theo and Olivia got engaged, she got pregnant with Lilly, and they stopped betting their money altogether.

He didn't say anything because Theo was his friend and he wanted to support him, but Liam really had no idea how the relationship had lasted that long. They were engaged for five years without any talk of actually getting married, for one thing, and they always seemed to be fighting when they were talking at all. Theo claimed that the only good thing to come out of their relationship was their kids, Olivia disagreed even on that, and Theo was suddenly the one with full custody.

It reminded Liam of his own parents before they got a divorce. He looked at Jack and Lilly as they played in front of him on the living room floor, mostly comprised of throwing things, laughing, and picking them back up, and just felt thankful that Theo had them to keep him grounded when Liam couldn't be around for him. He'd started helping out with Lilly and Jack right after Olivia packed up and left, and though Theo would never admit he needed the help at first, Liam gave it anyway. He remembered sitting with him the first night he helped out on the very same couch he sat on now, rubbing Theo's arm and listening him talk.

"They're my life, you know?" Theo had said. "I knew Olivia and I had more differences than anything else, but I could never imagine leaving them alone."

"I'll be around to help you whenever you need it," Liam said, patting him on the shoulder, and he had kept his promise.

"Lee-um?" Lilly asked, waving a little hand in front of his face. "Whatcha thinking about? You got all dreamy."

Liam smiled at her softly, brought back into the present. "Nothing," He said. "You two hungry yet? I can make that macaroni and cheese you like," He offered in a singsong voice. Lilly and Jack both perked up, and that was impressive - it was hard to pry Jack away from his transformers. The two of them cheered and nodded, and Liam got up off the couch to make some Kraft. He wondered when the day would come that one of them would figure out that Kraft mac n cheese came from a box and wasn't some magic that only Liam and Theo knew how to make.

His phone buzzed on the counter, a text from Theo. _Everything going good over there?_

Liam shot back a _'yes'_ as he filled a pot with water, his contented smile dimming a little. 

He had kept his promise to be around for Theo when he needed him, so whenever Theo needed a babysitter for anything, Liam was who he called. He knew Theo preferred being in the house with his kids whenever he could, but life called a lot now that he was the only one in his house working. He'd stood in when Theo had work, meetings, or was just plain exhausted and needed to nap. Anything. Which included the date he was on.

Liam bit his lip and tried to push back his negative thoughts. He knew if he were a good person, he would feel good for Theo that he was getting back into dating after two years of being on his own. He deserved a chance to be happy just like everyone else. Liam just couldn't help but think that he deserved the same, and his version of happy just so happened to be with the man whose kids he was looking after right now. 

Spending so much time together after Lilly was born had built their friendship up stronger, but it had been the past two years of Theo being single that had made Liam's feelings start to stir up. It was little butterflies here and there at first that he didn't recognize, then a crush, then full-blown longing. It was easy liking Theo, sweet, but it had been tinged with the sadness he felt when Theo told him that he needed him to babysit because he was going on a date with a woman he met a week back.

But Liam was pushing forward, he told himself. It was silly to have a crush on Theo, anyway. He clearly wasn't interested in men, let alone Liam, who he probably saw like a brother or something. Theo was allowed to date and Liam would just have to get over it. 

His happiness was restored when he called the kids to the kitchen table after putting some mac n cheese and tater tots on their little plastic plates. The kids' eyes were alight with excitement as they dug in. Liam knew that Theo tried to get them to eat healthier most of the time, but he allowed some fun when Liam babysat. He was pretty sure that ninety percent of the kids' loyalty was because he gave them macaroni and cheese. "Thank you, Liam," Lilly said, and Jack nodded his thanks while clumsily putting noodles in his mouth. He noticed then that Jack was struggling to reach the table. 

"Oh, buddy, you need a booster seat," He laughed, grabbing the seat from off the floor and lifting Jack up with the other one as the boy giggled. "Why didn't you say anything?" He scolded playfully.

"I'm big enough 'ready," Jack said happily. Liam laughed.

"Maybe, but not big enough to reach the table," He teased as he went to sit across from them. His phone buzzed again, more from Theo.

_**Theo (6:23 PM)** \- They're not being too crazy? They were a little energetic when I left them  
 **Liam (6:23 PM)** \- they're fine. eating dinner now, mac n cheese :)  
 **Theo (6:24 PM)** \- I'm sure they're thrilled  
 **Liam (6:24 PM)** \- ofc  
 **Liam (6:24 PM)** \- on the phone on your date? where's your table manners theodore  
[Read 6:24 PM]_

"Are you texting Daddy?" Lilly asked. Liam nodded. "Ask him how his date's going!"

Liam wanted to do literally anything other than that, but he went to start typing anyway.

"Bad," Jack said as soon as he swallowed a big bite of macaroni and cheese. Liam and Lilly both looked at him questioningly. "It's goin' bad."

"Why would it be bad, bud?" Liam asked, amused and also feeling kind of pathetic that he wanted to know why from a four year old.

"Because," Jack said, taking another forkful, half of which fell out of his mouth. "Daddy said to Corey on the phone yesterday that he didn't wanna go because he likes _you_ ," He said mindlessly, poking at his plate. Liam froze, and Lilly's eyes widened. 

"You weren't supposed to say that," She whispered to her brother. Jack looked like he remembered, but then shrugged.

"Oops," He said, no social sense of remorse developed yet.

They didn't talk about it, because what was he really supposed to talk about with a seven and a four year old, but Liam's head was spinning. He tried to keep in mind that it could all just be a big misunderstanding and that Jack didn't really know what Theo was saying, but he kept bouncing back to the shock that Theo had actually said that. _And Corey hadn't told him?_ That was _big_.

Lilly and Jack seemed unconcerned after that, going about their business of eating dinner and playing, but Liam had to try and keep it together.

He didn't know what he was feeling at first. He'd felt so weird about liking Theo in the beginning, because the man had _kids_ , for god's sake. Kids that had grown to trust him and regard him as a real responsible figure in their lives that they could count on, and something about that made Liam's crush on Theo more stressful than it would have been before. He also wondered why Theo had never dated since Olivia, and wondered how much Liam was a part of that, how long he had had feelings for him and didn't tell him. He was surprised, because no matter how much Liam was sure Theo was gay back in high school and college before Olivia, he had started to think that he was wrong. 

But above all, he was buzzing and dizzy. He'd liked Theo for two years, and if Jack had heard Theo correctly, he had just gotten very, very lucky. He'd imagined himself with Theo before so many times in daydreams. He could imagine being over at the house more while Theo was _there_ , the four of them doing something cute like baking cookies or doing dinky little crafts, and going on dates with Theo the rare times they would have off. He felt a little disjointed from reality for the rest of the time he watched after the kids. He tucked them both into bed at eight and sat on the couch for the last couple of minutes before Theo was due to come home. He tried distracting himself with his phone, but all he wanted to do was text Theo, so he put it face down on the coffee table and waited.

He heard the turn of the key in the lock in the foyer, Theo stepping into the living room a few minutes later. He looked good, two buttons of his light pink shirt undone like always and his glasses on his face. Liam _loved_ his glasses. "Hey," He said, looking around the clean living room that Liam had tidied up for him. "How were they tonight?"

"They were good," Liam said, his heart in his throat. He was trying to keep it together, but looking at Theo now, he looked different. His smile was soft and he looked at Liam appreciatively, and it positively melted him now that he knew what it meant. "Jack was a little tough getting to sleep tonight, but other than that, they were perfect."

"Great," Theo said, relieved. "Thank you, again." He smiled at Liam. "I'm sorry I keep taking up your nights."

"It's no problem, I didn't have anything to do tonight anyway," Liam said, rubbing his hands up and down his thighs as he looked up at Theo across the room from the couch. He was so far away yet so close. 

There was a beat of silence while Theo nodded to himself, but he looked to Liam a second later. "You want to hang around a little longer? We have that episode we didn't watch yet."

"Jack said something weird today," Liam blurted out without meaning to when he noticed Theo starting to go for the spot next to him. He had meant to work that into a conversation or something, but his fight or flight kicked in as soon as Theo got close. He clamped his mouth shut, but there was no going back from that now that Theo was looking at him with interest. "...It was about something he heard you say over the phone," He started slowly, hoping that Theo would say something to stop him. He didn't. Liam chewed his lip. "...He said that you told Corey you didn't want to go on the date tonight. B-because of me." Theo sucked in a deep breath and straightened up where he stood nervously. "And Lilly said he wasn't supposed to say that, so I guess she heard it too."

"...Wow," Theo said after a second, running his hand through his hair. "Uh...wow."

"Yeah," Liam said meekly, starting to shrink in on himself, suddenly self conscious. 

"So, Jack said that I like you," Theo clarified. Liam chewed his lip and nodded, and Theo took a deep breath in and out. "Well then I guess that's up to you."

Liam blinked. "What?"

"Whether or not you keep watching the kids," Theo said simply, looking away. "Whether you still feel comfortable being around them."

"Theo..." Liam tried, standing up.

"It's fine. Really. I can find someone else to watch them. They won't like them as much as they like you, but I'll deal. You can have your nights back."

"Theo, what are you talking about?" Liam asked, confusion clouding his brain. He put a hand on Theo's arm and he jerked away as if he was burned.

"It's _weird_ , Liam," Theo sighed, rubbing where Liam had touched him but not meeting his eyes. "It wasn't fair that I let you watch my kids without knowing something that big, and I shouldn't have done it. It makes things uncomfortable for you because you know me and you know my kids, but you didn't know me like...like that. So if you don't want to do it anymore, I understand."

Theo was going to say more, but Liam cut him off. "Is this under the assumption that I don't feel the same way?" He asked, and Theo's eyes met his, startled. "Because I think you should be asking me different questions if it is."

"What do you mean?" Theo asked quietly, like he was afraid of the answer. Liam cautiously stepped forward, and when Theo stood his ground, he wrapped his arms around Theo's neck. 

Theo's lips parted the slightest bit, but Liam held his gaze. "It's okay," He whispered, and Theo's eyes drifted down from his eyes to his lips before Liam took the hint and kissed him softly. Theo took a rattling breath in and his hands found Liam's hips, his lips chasing his as Liam pulled back. Theo looked at him then, a million questions in his eyes. "It's okay...because I like you too," he confessed softly, and Theo's mouth fell slightly open again as if the kiss hadn't been enough to convince him. "I have for awhile now."

Theo blinked at him a few times, words not coming, before a smile finally spread across his face. "Oh, thank God," He breathed, and before he knew it, Liam was being kissed again, this time with much less fear and a whole lot more of what Theo had been holding back for what felt like forever. Theo's hands cupped his cheeks like he was something he was afraid to lose, and Liam pressed against him with the intention to tell him he wouldn't.

Liam liked to think that they would have kept going if Theo hadn't heard little feet pattering on the hardwood floor, but they broke apart in surprise to see Jack and Lilly standing in the doorway to the living room. Liam moved to pull away, but Theo had frozen up, holding him still. 

"Is this what liking somebody means?" Jack asked, tilting his head to the side. "Because that makes no sense. Why would you touch your mouths? That's kinda gross."

"It's called _kissing_ ," Lilly corrected, proud of knowing what the word meant. "And it's very nice."

Liam laughed nervously, but neither of the kids seemed to see anything wrong with what was happening there. "I thought you guys were asleep," He said.

"Yeah, but I wanted a cup of water," Jack said. "Can we play Candyland?"

Liam was expecting Theo to let them down easy, but lightened up by the good mood, he shrugged and smiled. "Yeah, sure. Get it set up!" He told Lilly, who jumped up happily.

They were ten minutes into Candyland when Jack finally asked the question. "Are you and Daddy boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

Liam smiled at his clumsy words, but looked at Theo for the answer. "I..."

"Yes," Theo finished. "Boyfriend and boyfriend."

"So Liam will be here more? And we can have macaroni and cheese?" Jack asked excitedly, eyes lighting up.

" _All_ the mac n' cheese," Liam promised, but not without a playful shove from Theo.

"But _with_ a vegetable!"

_"Sold!"_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This one is fluffier than normal, but I love kid fics.   
> To recap, Theo has now had four children across several different story-universes: Willow, Henry, and now Lilly and Jack. Technically six, if you want to count the ones that never made it past the first draft, Willow's siblings David and Tara. Man gets busy, what can I say?
> 
> I'm going to start keeping the fics I write during this COVID quarantine in a series to just see how many words I've published in total. Also, I left the house for the first time in a while to see my grandparents today and celebrate an early easter, but don't worry, we are all home and safe here, nobody exposed <3
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!  
> Tumblr: grenadinepeach


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